Factors influencing glass formation in rapidly solidified Si,Ge–Ni and Si,Ge–Ni–Nd alloys

In this letter we compare the glass-forming capabilities of binary Si,Ge–Ni and ternary Si,Ge–Ni–Nd alloys. The addition of Nd caused the formation of an amorphous single phase in the Ge–Ni–Nd alloy. The structure and crystallization behavior of the amorphous alloy were studied by differential scanning calorimetry and x-ray diffractometry. No amorphous phase formed in any of the Nd-free alloys or in the Si–Ni–Nd alloy. The higher glass-forming capability of the Ge–Ni–Nd alloy compared to Si–Ni–Nd cannot be explained on the basis of the widely used geometrical and chemical factors, viscosity, or diffusion data. The importance of the electronic structure characteristics is suggested to be a reason.